Learning and Destiny
by redhood11
Summary: Arthur gets taken hostage, again, and this time Merlin cannot save the day from the shadows so easily. Secrets are learned and destiny is discovered.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own BBC's Merlin.**

The council meeting had just been wrapping up when the assassin had forced his way into the throne room with blade to Guinevere's throat. The blade was black and where it made contact with Guinevere's tan skin, black veins twisted away from the blade to cover her neck.

Sorcery, again.

Arthur had immediately given into the assassins demands of surrender, dropping his sword against Uther's orders. He remembered the feel of all the warmth in his body being sucked into the blade as it made contact with his throat. The assassin kicked the back of Arthurs knees hard, forcing him to fall hard on the floor as his knees cracked on the stone.

The assassin was making a grandiose speech about the true Queen Morgana, and correcting the wrongs in the world, how he would prove his worth to Morgana, but Arthur was only half listening.

The assassin was holding Arthur close to the main doors, the rest of the court was on the other side of the hall. From the dias, Uther was close to foaming at the mouth as he screamed for Arthur's immediate release. The knights closest to Arthur had been flung to the other side of the throne room by the sorcerer assassin. Merlin was tending to Guinevere who was on the floor in front of the dias, holding her throat.

Nobody would reach Arthur in time, especially with a knife to his throat. There was nothing the knights could do. Arthur breathed as deep as he could with the blade biting into his skin and tried to shift into a more active position. He would not let himself die on his knees!

Uther was screaming himself hoarse as he flung himself off of the dias and ran across the room towards Arthur and the sorcerer. Startled, the sorcerer relaxed his hold on Arthur for just a second...but as Arthur attempted to move away from the knife the sorcerer grabbed Arthur's hair and yanked his head back.

Suddenly, the knife was removed from his neck. Arthur turned and saw a small stone vine wound across the assassin's hand pulling his arm away from Arthur's neck.

The stone beneath Arthur's bruised knees began to tremble as a shockwave rolled across the throne room. The stone became fluid as water as it churned against the assassin's legs. The fluid stone formed into roots that grew and surrounded him, dragging him down into the stone. As the assassin was finally pulled under the liquid surface of the stone, the floor returned to normal as if it had never been disturbed before.

Time seemed to slow down as Arthur surveyed his surroundings. He scrambled to his feet and turned around. Merlin was standing with his hands held out in front of him, the glow of gold disappearing from his eyes.

 **All comments are welcome. I'm not a great writer, but I enjoyed writing this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Merlin.**

The throne room was still as an oppressive silence filled the room. Arthur's head swam. Merlin a sorcerer?

Merlin relaxed his hand. He blinked and seemed to just now become aware of his surroundings and situation. Merlin's eyes dropped to the floor. His voice wavered as he spoke, "He's in the dungeons, locked up, and out cold."

Arthur continued to stare at Merlin as the fury of his emotions battled to overcome him. The knights ran to Arthur's side to help him steady himself. Leon looked furious, Elyan and Percival looked to Arthur for orders, and Gwaine? Gwaine looked hurt. Guinevere had found her feet and began to back away from Merlin.

Arthur couldn't blame her. The realization of Merlin's dishonesty was overwhelming, but the power that Merlin had wielded was terrifying.

Skinny, useless Merlin. Clumsy and unassuming, always heeding Arthur's beck and call. Now revealed as a cursed sorcerer, and a powerful one. The two images were at war in Arthur's head and heart as he glared at Merlin, the lying traitor, daring to look repentant for his crimes.

Arthur had seen serious acts of magic before. Sorcerers attacked him all the time. Weekly it seemed. But for sorcerers to twist and bend the elements to their will required spells and talismans. If you could survive the spell, the sorcerer was always physically exhausted and thus, easier to take down. And there Merlin stood, not even breathing hard.

Merlin had not only bent the stone to his command, but he had defied the laws of nature to do so!

Arthur started walking towards Merlin, the rage he felt ready to be unleashed on Merlin. Merlin would see punishment for his treachery! Arthur's eyes never strayed from Merlin's thin and shivering body as a sword pierced his chest.

 **Thank you to those of you who gave my story a chance! I'm having a lot of fun writing it. This chapters rather short, sorry. I'm not done yet.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Merlin.**

Arthur had wanted Merlin to burn. Burn for the lies he had told, the betrayal of Arthur's trust. As he stepped towards Merlin he had all the intention of sending Merlin to the pyre.

But watching Merlin's face go slack, his eyes rolling back in his head as Uther pulled the sword from Merlin's back, shock began to settle in. The events around Arthur began to move more slowly. Guinevere screamed as Merlin began to slowly slump towards the floor. Lost to his madness, Uther was swinging the bloody sword around him, yelling about the perils of sorcery.

Watching Uther's breakdown, it became clear to Arthur that this was why Merlin hadn't ever shared his secrets. The threat of death was so present, the gallows always looming. Arthur felt sick as the vision of Merlin on the pyre came to him again.

Merlin's body thumped against the floor, Guinevere rushed to Merlin's side and grabbed his head, cradling it in her lap. He saw Gwaine run out of the throne room.

It felt like forever as he watched Merlin's blood spill onto the floor before he could force his body to move. He was on his knees staring at Merlin's wide and unfocused eyes. Elyan pushed his cloak into Arthur's hand and guided Arthur to try and stem the flow of blood from the gaping wound.

He watched Guinevere tell Merlin through tears that it would be alright, pushing his hair out of his face. Merlin's eyes were still unfocused as he began to cough up blood.

"No! Get away from him! Arthur I forbid it!"

Arthur wrenched his eyes away from Merlin to Uther. "What?"

Leon had managed to disarm Uther of the sword and no Uther was struggling to escape Percival who had taken upon himself to subdue the mad king. Uther's eyes were wide and full of fury as he looked upon Arthur.

"He's a bloody sorcerer, obviously in league with that wizard! He's a perversion of all that is good. He is evil and as such has been condemned." Uther pulled against Percival again, but the bigger man did not release his hold.

"Step away from him! Death to any who aide the sorcerer!" Percival managed to drag Uther back a few feet, but he was still struggling to escape. "I have worked too hard rid the world of this scum to have my own son aide a traitor!"

Arthur felt his blood boil. "He saved my life! You murdered him after he had saved my life, without a chance to explain himself!"

"Magicians must be eradicated, Arthur! They are plague on humanity! They are scum that will corrupt you! That thing obviously wanted to steal the throne from you!" Uther flailed against Percival.

"His name is Merlin" Arthur spat out towards his father.

Uther lashed out against Percival again, landing a gloved fist on Percival's cheek, Percival's head snapped back, but he didn't release his hold on Uther. Leon pinned Uther's free arm to the wall.

" _Traitors_! Every one of you! I will see every one of you burn! And Arthur you will-" Uther's words were muffled as a cloth was pressed up against his nose and mouth. Gwaine had snuck up behind Uther and was pressing a white cloth down hard on Uther's face. Uther struggled against his new combatant, but he gave up his fight as he slumped down against Percival and Leon.

Arthur stared at Gwaine as Leon helped Percival lower his father to the floor.

"Don't worry sire, it's just a sedative. He'll be out for a few hours and wake up dehydrated with a terrible headache. Now move aside," Gaius's hands were shaking as he gently pushed the blood soaked cape away from the wound.

"My boy," tears sprang to Gaius's eyes as he examined the wound. He cleared the bloody clothes away from the wound.

"How is he? Will he survive?"

Gais pulled a bottle out of his bag refusing to meet Arthur's eyes. "The blade went through his stomach and tore into a vital artery. It won't be much longer before..." Gaius trailed off as he brushed his hand against Merlin's pale face. He brought the bottle of herbs up under Merlin's nose and uncapped it.

Arthur watched as Merlin's eyes came back into focus.

"Gaius?" Merlin's voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm here Merlin, it's going to be alright." Gaius cleaned the blood around Merlin's mouth. Guinevere turned to Elyan and buried her face in his shoulder.

"I failed... I couldn't protect..." Merlin stuttered as his eyes went out of focus.

"Arthur's alive, Merlin. Because of you, you saved him."

Merlin smiled. "Good, he's going to be a great king someday...destiny..."

Arthur leaned over Merlin's face, "Merlin." He turned to Gaius, "Gaius is there a way to heal him? Any at all? Even magic?"

Gaius looked away from Arthur, "No. I might have, in my youth, possessed the ability to heal a wound of this magnitude. But I turned away from that path. I supported my _king_ " Gaius spat the words out of his mouth, "and now I lack the power or skill."

Arthur felt tears come to his eyes "We cannot allow him to die! I refuse to sit here and watch him die!" Gaius flinched but his eyes remained steadfastly on Merlin.

Arthur was ready to grab Gaius's' robe and force a different answer from him when Guinevere spoke.

"Arthur," Arthur turned to look at Guinevere. Even when crying she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. "Make him comfortable. Make your peace" she grabbed Arthur's arm and squeezed him tight.

"Ar...thur." he looked down to seen Merlin staring back at him with an intent look on his face, "I'm...so...sorry." Arthur put both hands on Merlin's shoulders and looked him strait in the eyes.

Arthur's tears were flowing freely now, "I wish we had more time to talk. I'm ready to listen, but Merlin..." Arthur blinked away the tears, "You are forgiven."

Merlin's eyes flashed gold.

 **I hope you enjoyed this. Dialogue is not my favorite thing, but I tried my best!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Merlin**

Arthur was suddenly aware he was in an all-white space. As he looked around, details became in focus and he saw Merlin a little way away. As he walked towards Merlin he realized that they were on the shore of a lake.

Merlin turned towards Arthur and looked back at the lake. Arthur looked at the lake and felt tranquility wash over him.

"Where are we? I don't believe I've ever been here." Arthur leaned against a large rock that appeared on the beach. "How did we get here?"

Merlin breathed deeply and turned to look at Arthur. "We're in my mind."

"What? But-"

"I'm dying, Arthur. My magic allowed me to bring you here, to this moment in my memory, so we could talk. It's what you wished for."

Arthur gaped as he looked around him the entire scene looked so real! "You can do that?"

Merlin shifted uncomfortably where he stood, "Apparently."

"So where are we?"

"The shores of the Lake of Avalon. It's always brought me peace." Merlin shifted again, crouching down and trailing his fingers through the water. "I wanted to tell you several times," Merlin's words died out again as he looked out over the lake.

Arthur couldn't even look at Merlin. "I wanted to burn you." He saw Merlin wince at the words, "You had just saved my life, and I was ready to tie you to the pyre myself. I… I wasn't going to ask questions, or give you the benefit of an explanation. I was going to burn my best friend without hesitation." Arthur took a deep breath as he looked towards the sky, "But my father stole my fury from me. I watched the glee on his face as he stabbed you. He took pride in ridding the world of another magical abomination, like he has so many time before. I realized I was just hurt that you had not trusted me, but father… well his actions proved why you kept your own counsel." Arthur turned to Merlin, who was staring at Arthur intensely.

"I didn't want you to have to choose between me and your father." Merlin's eyes begged for understanding, forgiveness. "I didn't want you to have to lie. It is never easy to live dishonestly."

Arthur blinked the tears from his eyes, he would not behave like the girl he always accused Merlin of being. "When did you learn magic? Did you study it before you came to Camelot?"

"I was born with it." Arthur must have looked skeptical because Merlin snorted, "No really. My mother said I was moving objects across the room before I could walk. I've never not had magic."

"I didn't know that was possible. Why did you come to Camelot?"

Merlin smirked, "Do you believe in destiny and fate?"

Arthur frowned, he was a man of action, not a philosopher. "A person makes their own destiny."

A sad smile formed on Merlin's lips, "I was destined to protect you, to help you become the greatest King that Albion has ever known. You will unite all kingdoms and end the persecution of magic." Merlin hugged his arms to his chest and looked down at the ground, "It was my reward. I was supposed to help you create paradise. After all I have done, and everyone I've lost, we were going to have peace."

Arthur was stunned, was this what destiny had planned out for him? The greatest king that Albion has ever known?

They both stared at the lake in silence for a bit.

"I was frightened of your power. I've never seen a sorcerer able to enchant stone to behave like water. I didn't even hear an incantation. How powerful are you?"

Merlin's ears turned a bright pink as he looked at Arthur. "I'm not a sorcerer."

"But you have magic!"

"Yes but I'm not a sorcerer. I'm a warlock because I was born with magic."

Arthur crossed his arms and tried to figure out the difference when he realized Merlin didn't answer the question. "But how powerful are you?"

"Most magicians must pull their magic from the earth. They learn to harness it for their purposes. A few are born with magic and learn about it later on, like Morgana. They have a reserve of magic, but still must learn how to channel the magic from the world around them."

"Merlin answer the question."

"I am magic. My entire existence is tied to magic, it's like breathing. The druids call me Emrys and their prophecies state that Emrys is…I am… the most powerful magician to ever be born."

Arthur had a hard time reconciling the fact that skinny Merlin held such power. "But you trip over everything!"

"Prat! Power has nothing to do with gracefulness!" Merlin's entire face was bright pink as turned back towards the lake in a huff.

"Thank you, Merlin."

Merlin's eyes opened in shock as he turned towards Arthur. "It was all for you. Everything I ever did was for you."

Arthur noticed that the surroundings were beginning to fade back to the white. "Merlin?"

"I don't have much time left. I stretched this moment out to last as long as possible." Merlin had tears in his eyes. "Promise me you'll take care of Gaius. Protect him from Uther's wrath." Arthur nodded. "And tell Gwen, Gwaine, Elyan, Percival, and Leon that I'm sorry. I wish I could have lived a more honest life." Tears streamed down Merlin's face. "And please let Gaius take my body to my mother. I'll miss you Arthur."

The white was becoming blinding as Arthur could no longer see the lake. Desperately he reached out for Merlin's arm and pulled Merlin into an embrace.

"I'm sorry, Merlin. I'll miss you." The white blinded him.

 **This scene was heavily inspired by the Harry and Dumbledore chat in Deathly Hallows. A final chance to make peace with one another. There should be an epilogue as soon as I can figure out how to make it better. Thanks for reading!**


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